1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a downhill or cross-country ski shoe or boot equipped with an energy source supplying an energy consuming device, such as a heating device.
2. Description of Background Information
Ski shoes or boots are known which are intended to improve the comfort of the wearer by means of the incorporation of heating devices. These devices include the electrical type, which use a heating resistance, and the liquid or gaseous fuel type which use a fuel reservoir or tank for a burner positioned in the shoe or boot. Liquid or gaseous fuel heating devices are advantageous, compared to electric devices, in making it possible to obtain a greater autonomy, making them more convenient, and to ensure the temperature and desired comfort within the shoe or boot during a relatively long period of time.
Heating devices using liquid fuel, such as described, for example, in Italian Patent No. 1,136,269 and French Patent No. 2,080,146, generally comprise a rechargeable liquid fuel burner, which is positioned under a heat diffusion plate incorporated in the sole of the shoe or boot so as to be as close as possible to the foot of the wearer of the shoe or boot. Other heating devices which use gaseous fuel include a gas reservoir or tank, supplying fuel through a valve to a catalytic burner, all these elements being totally positioned in the sole of the shoe or boot.
Such heating devices with gaseous fuel are described, for example, in Italian Design Model No. 196,850 and in International Patent Application WO 86/05663. These gaseous fuel heating devices are of the rechargeable gas tank type and it is consequently necessary to provide, in the sole of the shoe or boot which contains the tank, an orifice through which the internal gas tank can be connected to an external gas recharging source.
The known heating devices, either of the elastic type or the liquid or gaseous fuel type, have the disadvantage that once the heating is started, this heating can only be stopped by manual intervention of the wearer of the shoe or boot. That is, the wearer must think of shutting off the heating when he takes off the shoe or boot, which can obviously be forgotten. Therefore, the removed boot is still heated, causing rapid exhaustion of the energy source used and a waste of this energy.